Xebec on the Open Sea

I asked the captain
where we were bound to
and he just laughed,

told me not to worry,
and I didn't, because
it would do no good.

Three days out,
nearing Tunis, he came
to my cabin, unannounced.

"Dress well, ma petite,"
he said as he pulled on his pipe,
"It will help you to be attractive,

for your buyers are men,
after all, and you are quite fine
when not so angry."

I had hidden a knife
and could have gutted him,
but what would that have gained?

Instead, I hoped to be purchased
by a rich man, one
I might persuade to marry me

for my skill in love and bed
and only later brew for him
tea laced with strychnine

and the offer of a sweet aperitif.
Because death should always be gentle,
for even the most evil of men.